Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger (27 May 1923-) was US National Security Advisor from 20 January 1969 to 3 November 1975 (succeeding Walt Rostow and preceding Brent Scowcroft) and Secretary of State from 22 September 1973 to 20 January 1977 (succeeding William P. Rogers and preceding Cyrus Vance). Serving under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, he played a prominent role in US foreign policy from 1969 to 1977, pioneering the policy of detente with the Soviet Union, opening diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, ending US involvement in the Vietnam War, supported Augusto Pinochet's right-wing military coup in Chile, and supported the genocidal regime of Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Biography
Henry Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Bavaria, Germany on 27 May 1923 to a Jewish family, and he came to the United States in 1938 and studied at City College, New York. He served in the US Army in Europe during World War II and later took part in the US military government in Germany before returning to complete his studies at Harvard, where he became professor of government in 1962. He became a government consultant, and in 1968 a campaign adviser for Richard Nixon, who appointed him Special Adviser on National Security and then head of the National Security Council from 1969 to 1975.

As Secretary of State originally appointed by Nixon, he repudiated the Dulles strategy of brinkmanship, believing in the need for pragmatic and flexible responses. Although he feared that the USA might fall behind in a missile gap and pressed for massive spending on nuclear weapons, he was at the same time largely responsible for the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) in 1972. In addition, he helped to achieve a resolution of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, rapprochement with the People's Republic of China in 1972, which the USA now recognized for the first time, and above all resolution of the Vietnam War. He had at first accepted the case for intervention, and supported the bombing offensive against Cambodia. He changed his views and, after prolonged negotiations, he reached agreement for the withdrawal of US troops. For this, he received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with his North Vietnamese counterpart, Le Duc Tho, in 1973. Later in that year he hoped to resolve the Yom Kippur War and restored US diplomatic relations with Egypt. He managed to remain untainted by the Watergate scandal, continuing in office under President Gerald Ford. As head of an international consultancy agency, he exerted considerable influence on US affairs during the 1980s. He would later become a prolific author of books on diplomatic history and international relations.